A failed protein-processing facility just outside Winnipeg is getting a second life as artificial intelligence infrastructure. Bell Canada is converting the former Merit Functional Foods plant in the CentrePort industrial development into an AI data centre, according to building permits filed with the South Interlake Planning District.
The construction project in the rural municipality of Rosser involves at least $31.5 million worth of construction. The permits call for crews to modify the walls of the former protein-processing plant so the facility can serve as a data centre, and also for the construction of concrete pads to support generators, chillers, and transformers. CBC News
The Rosser data centre will only require 5.5 megawatts of electricity, making it significantly smaller than Bell's other Canadian data centre projects. CBC News
A Repurposed Facility With a Notable History
The Bell AI Fabric data centre in Rosser is an adaptive reuse of a 94,000-square-foot facility that cost $150 million to build and was designed to convert peas and canola into protein. The federal government contributed $100 million to the Merit Functional Foods facility in 2020. Merit opened the protein-processing plant in 2021, and two years later, the company was in receivership. CBC News
The Rosser conversion is a modest but symbolically notable addition to Bell's expanding national footprint. It comes weeks after Bell announced its flagship project: a $1.7 billion AI data centre near Regina, Saskatchewan, which Bell says will be Canada's largest AI data centre once operational. CBC News
Bell's National AI Infrastructure Strategy
The Rosser facility fits into Bell's broader Bell AI Fabric strategy, which is positioning the company as Canada's primary sovereign AI compute provider. The Regina project alone is expected to generate up to $12 billion in economic value for Saskatchewan and create more than 1,600 jobs. SaskToday
A significant portion of the Bell AI Fabric facilities' power will be dedicated to sovereign AI compute, ensuring that government agencies, researchers, and enterprises in Canada can access top-tier AI power while guaranteeing their data remains within Canadian borders. CKOM
What This Means
For Canadian businesses and government organizations, Bell's AI infrastructure push represents a meaningful shift in domestic compute availability. The ability to process sensitive data on Canadian soil — rather than routing it through US cloud providers — is increasingly important for compliance, data residency requirements, and national security considerations.
The conversion of a failed food manufacturing plant into AI infrastructure is also a practical reminder that the AI buildout is reshaping real estate and industrial assets across North America, not just data centre campuses.
